Apple iPad Air M4 (2026) Complete Guide: Release date, price, specs & what’s new

M4 iPad Air Price

Despite the upgrades, the iPad Air’s starting price remains unchanged from the M3 model. This is excellent news for consumers who get faster and more capable hardware without paying more.

Unlike the new iPhone 17e, which doubles the storage at the entry-level to 256GB for the same price, the iPad Air still starts with 128GB of storage.

A cellular model costs an additional $150/£150 over the standard Wi-Fi version – before factoring in the price of a monthly data plan. The premium reflects the extra hardware required for mobile connectivity, including a cellular modem and GPS support, allowing for accurate location tracking and internet access on the go.

Unless you specifically need always-on connectivity, it may be more cost-effective to use your iPhone as a personal hotspot and share its data connection instead of paying extra for a cellular iPad.

M4 iPad Air Processor: Will the 2026 iPad Air be faster?

• Apple-designed M4 chip with 8-core CPU and 9-core GPU.
• Up to 30% faster overall performance vs the M3 version.
• 16-core Neural Engine and 50% more unified memory (12GB).

We are already familiar with the M4 chip, which featured in the 2024 iPad Pro. Unlike the iPad Pro, which came with a 9-core or 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU. The M4 iPad Air features an 8-core CPU and a 9-core GPU.

The M4 is notably faster than prior Apple chips. For users that will mean snappier multitasking, quicker app launches, and smoother operation even under heavy load, compared to the previous generation.

The M4 GPU is much improved on its predecessors, meaning even better graphics and rendering for games and creative apps.

In addition, the 16-core Neural Engine in the M4 will benefit machine leaning tasks such as photo editing and enhancements and AI-driven features.

The M4 is also designed to be more power-efficient than earlier chips, which should translate to better battery life.

The 2025 iPad Air had 8GB of RAM, the minimum required to run Apple Intelligence. The new iPad Air has 12GB of RAM as standard, with memory bandwidth increases to 120GB/s, which will benefit AI processes.

M4 iPad Air Performance: How much faster is the M4 iPad Air compared to the M3 iPad Air?

• The M4 delivers up to ~30% faster performance than the M3.
• Unified memory increased (12 GB vs typically 8 GB on the M3 model).
• Faster Neural Engine and GPU, enhancing graphics and AI tasks.

Apple

Apple’s claims “blazing performance” for the M4 iPad Air, but the M3 iPad Air was by no means slow.

In our tests of the M4 chip we found it to be around 25-30 percent faster than the M3 and the GPU to be around 20% faster. In practice this should mean multitasking is smoother and graphics intensive apps should be more responsive, which will be good for gaming.

M4 iPad Air Connectivity: How the N1 and C1X will benefit the iPad Air

• N1 wireless chip (Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6).
• C1X cellular modem in cellular models with faster data.
• 5G support and enhanced wireless performance.

With the iPhone 17, Apple included a new Apple-made wireless networking chip for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Thread networking technology (used to control smart-home devices). This N1 chip is included in the iPad Air bringing support for Wi-Fi 7 and its higher peak speeds, lower latency, and quicker downloads and uploads.

The N1 also adds support for Bluetooth 6, with benefits including more reliable connections in crowded locations, lower latency, and more efficient power use.

Another benefit of the N1 is that AirDrop and Personal Hotspot reliability should also be improved.

The iPhone Air’s C1X 5G modem is also being used in the cellular models of the iPad Air. The benefits there revolve around cellular connectivity, including: faster 5G performance, better power efficiency (Apple says it uses 30% less energy), and improved battery life.

What is the same compared to the M3 iPad Air

• Same advanced cameras (12MP rear camera, 12MP Center Stage front camera).
• Same all-day battery life.
• Same support for Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard.
• Available in 11- and 13-inch sizes, multiple finishes, and storage options (128GB – 1TB).
• Same slim aluminium body, same color options: Space Gray, Blue, Purple and Starlight.
• Same 11-inch of 13-inch LCD Liquid Retina display.
• Base-level storage is the same at 128GB.

The new iPad Air has the same design and screen options as previously. The same four colors are used as has been the case for the past two generations: Blue, Purple, Starlight, Space Gray.

The iPad Air has used the same LED backlit Liquid Retina display for several generations, and this continues with the M4 update.

Apple’s more expensive iPad Pro uses tandem OLED panels and there are rumors that OLED may be coming to other iPads, possibly the iPad mini first.

The storage options are the same, starting at 128GB.

The iPad Air has had the same two cameras since the M1: a 12MP front camera with Center Stage and a 12MP rear wide-angle camera. The hardware hasn’t changed unfortunately.